What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Johnny’s display of fury was largely within Leon’s expectations.

From both Ophelia and Bishop Beckett, he had also learned some indirect information regarding the relationship between the Earl and Johnny.

Rather than serving the Earl out of loyalty, Johnny was more like a mercenary hired through a contractual agreement.

Overall, Johnny trained elite soldiers for the Earl and led his own men in serving him. In exchange, besides paying him generously, the Earl had also established a charitable association at Johnny’s request.

According to Bishop Beckett, the association’s funds came from the Earl’s territorial revenues, as well as donations solicited from other influential nobles under the guise of charity. Officially, the Earl appeared to be the organization’s operator, but in reality, it was managed entirely by Johnny’s people. The Earl merely provided the funding and never interfered in its administration.

After conducting further investigations, Leon discovered that the charity primarily provided relief to the families of fallen soldiers in several eastern regions under the banner of honoring military sacrifice.

Considering Johnny’s background, Leon suspected that Johnny had established the charitable foundation largely because of the subordinates who had died alongside him in that battle years ago.

Now, however, the Earl was dead.

Johnny had lost his employer.

The charitable association he operated had also lost both the nominal organizer and its financial backing. Before long, it would no longer be able to continue operating.

As for Johnny himself...

He was officially a dead man without any legal identity.

He had no way to operate such an organization himself, nor could he allow it to continue existing. Otherwise, if someone investigated the Earl’s death, they might trace the organization back to him—the Church Knight Commander who was officially supposed to have died in battle.

For Johnny, that was undoubtedly a massive problem.

Taking into account both his friendship with the Earl and the trouble caused by the Earl’s death, it was perfectly understandable that Johnny had come to settle the score with Leon.

“So then, Mr. Johnny, have you come this time to avenge the Earl?” Leon asked.

“When I first heard the news, I couldn’t believe my fucking ears. Mastan actually died at the hands of a snot-nosed brat like you. Don’t tell me you never once thought about what the consequences of doing something like this would be!” Johnny snarled viciously.

“Then, Mr. Johnny, have you carefully considered the consequences yourself? Are you really going to send your own brothers to their deaths over a man who can never come back to life?” Leon countered.

If Leon’s guess was correct—that the charitable association Johnny and the Earl had established through their agreement was meant for the brothers who had fallen alongside Johnny years ago—then Johnny undoubtedly cared deeply about his subordinates.

Simply avenging the Earl brought Johnny no real benefit.

Even if he killed Leon, the Earl wouldn’t come back to life and continue their partnership.

Johnny was certainly a troublesome opponent for Leon.

But the reverse was equally true.

If Johnny knew Leon’s trump cards, he would understand that fact even better.

Because Leon had long anticipated the possibility of eventually confronting Johnny, he had made extensive preparations.

He had custom-made a batch of insulated protective gear crafted from oil-treated leather and canvas.

The Labyrinth’s combat Magical Beasts continued breeding in large numbers.

Construction of defensive fortifications and expansion of manpower had never stopped.

Moreover, even if Johnny already knew the trump cards the Earl had never learned about...

Those trump cards hadn’t disappeared.

Leon could still wield two Blessings simultaneously.

He still had the support of both Rena and Weiss, two second-tier Transcendents.

If Johnny insisted on charging in and fighting him head-on, even if he avoided repeating the Earl’s mistakes, the casualties on both sides would undoubtedly be devastating.

There was even a genuine possibility that Johnny’s entire force could be annihilated.

It simply wasn’t a rational choice.

Leon could only pray that Johnny would take that into consideration.

If Johnny’s rage over the Earl’s death overwhelmed his reason...

Then today would truly become a brutal battle.

Meanwhile, Johnny stood upon the deck, carefully observing the island’s harbor defenses.

The moment his fleet had approached, the pirate warning bells had begun ringing across the island.

Johnny drew one conclusion from that alone.

Leon had obtained advance intelligence about his arrival and had already prepared accordingly.

And the Earl had died to a prepared Leon.

Naturally, Johnny wouldn’t underestimate such an opponent.

Now...

Absolutely wasn’t the best opportunity to launch an assault on the island.

“...You think this little display is enough to intimidate me? You caused me a disaster of this magnitude, and you think I’ll just let it go? Don’t underestimate me, brat! Be grateful you’ve still got a few days left to live. We’ve got plenty of time ahead of us.” Johnny’s voice was ice-cold.

“Wait, Mr. Johnny. I don’t think we necessarily have to fight to the death. Since you’ve come all this way, why don’t we sit down and talk first?” Leon suddenly called out, trying to stop him.

On the surface, Johnny recognizing that this wasn’t the best opportunity and refraining from attacking Arend Island seemed like good news.

But for Leon...

It wasn’t.

It was much like what had happened with the Earl.

Had the Earl not attacked so hastily, Leon certainly would have gained more preparation time.

But a fully prepared Earl would have been an opponent Leon could never have defeated, no matter how much preparation he himself had made.

Johnny wasn’t quite at that level.

Still, Leon understood that once Johnny finished preparing, he would become an even more troublesome enemy than he already was.

Although Johnny was officially dead in the Church’s records and couldn’t openly leverage the Church’s power against Leon without exposing himself...

If he gathered the Earl’s remaining Cadres instead...

Those Cadres, who were already living in constant fear, desperately needed someone capable of leading them.

With Johnny’s strength and prestige, answering his call would be inevitable.

Furthermore, Johnny was a genuine military commander who had fought real wars.

Infiltration.

Ambushes.

Military tactics of every sort.

Those would all be second nature to him.

Whether Leon’s businesses across his territories or his stronghold on Arend Island became Johnny’s target...

Johnny would undoubtedly cause him endless headaches.

After repeatedly analyzing and simulating the situation...

Leon had reached a conclusion.

The best possible outcome wasn’t defeating Johnny after suffering heavy losses.

The best outcome...

Was persuading Johnny to abandon his hostility.

Better yet...

Form a partnership.

If Leon intended to inherit the Earl’s position within the existing balance of power, then logically, he should also seek to replace the Earl in his contractual relationship with Johnny.

After all...

The Earl had never reached his current position without Johnny’s support.

The very fact that Johnny had entered into an agreement with the Earl meant he wanted something.

Now that the Earl was dead...

If Leon could satisfy the needs Johnny had previously fulfilled through that arrangement...

Perhaps there was still a chance to establish a new partnership.

“Talk? What the hell is there left to talk about? You went and killed the Earl for no damn reason, dumped this enormous mess on me, and didn’t even stop to think about the consequences for yourself! What exactly am I supposed to discuss with a lunatic who throws himself straight into a pit of fire!?” Johnny exploded the moment he heard the suggestion.

“Then do you really believe the Earl could have been defeated by nothing more than a reckless lunatic... or an idiot charging headfirst into a fire?” Leon asked in return.

“...”

For the first time, Johnny had no rebuttal.

Difficult as it was to believe...

The fact remained.

Leon had killed the Earl.

Perhaps the Earl had grown careless.

But even a careless Earl wasn’t someone who could simply be defeated on a whim.

The overwhelming disparity in strength between Leon and the Earl’s faction meant that one wrong step would have guaranteed Leon’s death.

Therefore...

Every single move Leon made had to be perfectly calculated.

That wasn’t something a hot-headed lunatic or a suicidal fool could possibly accomplish.

In a sense...

By killing the Earl...

Leon had already proven his own ability.

“...Then why did you kill the Earl?” Johnny finally asked after a long silence.

He still didn’t know Leon’s reason.

After leaving, he had no knowledge of what had happened.

The investigation into Leon had been handled by Bishop Beckett.

And Bishop Beckett was now dead.

The remaining Cadres only knew that Leon had supposedly gone mad, kidnapped Miss Ophelia, and forced the Earl to eliminate him.

But it was obvious that kidnapping Ophelia had merely been the method Leon used to kill the Earl.

There had to have been another reason that set everything in motion beforehand.

Based on what Johnny had managed to piece together...

The matter most likely stemmed from the Earl’s Revenge Plan.

Johnny knew about that plan involving the Great Witch Arachne.

His recent voyage had been undertaken specifically to escort the payment promised to Arachne all the way to Moirland.

At the time, Johnny had personally opposed the Earl’s plan.

In his opinion...

The Revenge Plan was neither wise...

Nor honorable.

But the Earl had been utterly obsessed with it and refused to change his mind.

From everything Johnny had learned since returning...

The Revenge Plan had failed.

And the person who had destroyed it...

Was almost certainly Leon.

“Mr. Johnny,” Leon answered with a question of his own, “if the Earl insisted that someone important to you had to die... what would you have done?”

It wasn’t a lie.

The catalyst for the conflict between him and the Earl had indeed been the lives of Weiss and Sally.

And neither of them was insignificant to him.

But it also wasn’t the whole truth.

Ultimately...

He had acted for himself.

He had acted to pursue the extraordinary life that belonged to him as a transmigrator.

Only by killing the Earl and escaping his control could he obtain the freedom to pursue all of that.

Of course...

Revealing that motive would do nothing to persuade Johnny.

Negotiation depended on understanding one’s counterpart.

Leon judged Johnny to be someone who deeply valued his comrades and subordinates.

Therefore...

He needed to create common ground.

Leon even suspected that the reason Johnny had suddenly changed his mind and helped him conquer the Labyrinth in the past...

Was because Johnny had recognized similarities between the way Leon treated his own subordinates and the way he himself did.

Just as Leon had expected...

After thinking for a long time, Johnny let out a slow breath before speaking again.

“Then what exactly do you want to discuss?”

“I’ve learned part of the agreement between you and the Earl. Killing him has undoubtedly caused you considerable trouble, and for that, I sincerely apologize. If possible, I’d like you to give me an opportunity to cooperate with you, so I can make up for the problems you’ve suffered after losing the Earl.”

Leon chose every word with great care.

“You’re saying...” Johnny asked in a tone tinged with surprise, “that you want to hire me under the same terms the Earl offered?”

A moment later, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.

“Heh... cooperate with me?”

“Yes.”

“You think you’re qualified?”

“Why not tell me what your conditions are first?” Leon remained unfazed by Johnny’s scornful tone.

“Altogether, across every project, the Earl paid me at least fifty million Fenni every year. Can you afford that, brat? On top of that, the Earl provided a great deal of protection that you simply don’t have. Considering the increased risk, I’d have to raise my price to seventy million if I worked for you!!” Johnny demanded.

“If you can help me seize the territories and businesses of the surrounding counties... then I can afford it,” Leon answered.